ALBANY — Mike Black needed a game like this. So did Jacob Iati and so did Will Brown, and on and on you could go.

Everyone associated with the University at Albany men's basketball team has been waiting for a game like Saturday's since the season-long four-game homestand started 12 days ago.

It wasn't until the last one, against Binghamton on the biggest night of the season, that things went the right way for the Danes. In front of a season-high 4,392 — on Big Purple Growl Night — UAlbany squashed the overmatched Bearcats 79-46.

The 33-point margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Danes, who improve to 6-4 in the America East Conference and 17-7 overall. UAlbany also moved into third place behind Stony Brook and Vermont in the nine-team league. The Danes moved ahead of Boston University and Hartford, which are both 5-4.

Hartford beat Boston University 66-58 on Saturday.

"We just had to stop the bleeding," UAlbany coach Will Brown said. "I thought we played very well."

The Danes came into the four-game homestand in first place with a 5-1 record. After the first three games — losses to Boston University, Vermont and Stony Brook — UAlbany was free-falling and wondering if it would ever be able to beat a team in front of it in the conference.

UAlbany still has some time to prove it can beat the higher ranked America East teams.

Getting a win — against anyone — was what the Danes needed so very badly on Saturday.

"It was everything," sophomore forward Sam Rowley said. "We have had a tough stretch. This was fantastic."

The Danes were never threatened by Binghamton (1-8, 3-19). UAlbany got 3-pointers by Peter Hooley and Iati to build a quick 6-0 lead, and the Danes were never going to be tested.

UAlbany ended the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 40-14 lead at intermission. From there, it was just a matter of how much the Danes were going to win by.

"They are clearly the better team," said Binghamton coach Tommy Dempsey, who watched his team lose to the Danes in Vestal 71-59 on Jan. 7. "We just don't have good matchups when we play them. They have better players than we do."

Black, who came into this night in the deepest slump of his productive career, finally showed signs of coming out of it. In the previous four games, he had made just nine of 57 shots.

He missed his first one Saturday but then made four of his last seven to finish with 13 points.

"When I made my first one, it took the monkey off my back," Black said. "It felt good. It's been tough the last couple of games, but I never lost confidence once."

Binghamton was also the perfect guest for Iati, who has been held under scrutiny for his play during the three-game slide. He has been bothered by Achilles tendon problems in both legs plus a sore back, and has been limited in practice, sometimes not taking part at all.

Iati has insisted he could still help the Danes, and he showed that on Saturday. He made six of eight shots — four of six from 3-point range — and had 16 points. He had 13 by halftime.

"I felt a lot more like I was in game shape," said Iati, who practiced the past two days before Saturday. "It's not that important to me if I score, I just care if we win. I was mad that we lost the last three. All I care about is wins, and I know I say that a lot. But I really mean it."

Jayson Guerrier led the Danes with 18 points off the bench. He made six of eight shots — five of seven from 3-point range — in his 17 minutes of play. Brown was able to play everyone on his roster for at least three minutes, and all but two players — starting center John Puk and backup point guard DJ Evans — scored.